3 Die in La Habra Murder-Suicide

Three people were shot dead in a gruesome murder-suicide Monday morning when a 60-year-old ex-convict gunned down his estranged wife and her male housemate with assault rifles, dragged her body into her La Habra home, then pointed a rifle at his own head, police said.

La Habra police identified the gunman as Richard William Willsey of Whittier, and his victims as Nancy Marie Willsey, 51, and Dennis Hoefs, 59. Richard Willsey was on probation for a June 1997 felony conviction for making terrorist-like threats against his wife and others.

Nancy Willsey and Hoefs worked together at Votaw Precision Technologies in Santa Fe Springs, a toolmaker serving the aerospace industry. Hoefs was an estimator and Nancy Willsey was an administrative assistant.

Neighbors of Richard Willsey said he was a long-distance trucker who hauled munitions or ordnance among military bases and that his lengthy absences played a role in the faltering marriage.

Though many residents said they didn’t care for him, some seemed to like him, though they said his quick temper often left them wary.

“He could be ornery if you crossed him, but because we’ve known him for so many years, he was always nice to us,” said Joyce Wilson, who for 30 years had lived across the street from Willsey.

Police are trying to determine how Willsey obtained the semiautomatic guns, one a Chinese Norinco knock-off of an Uzi assault rifle and the other a Bulgarian assault weapon akin to an AK-47, which holds up to 100 rounds. Both rifles are believed to be banned under federal and state law, though there are loopholes that allow people to possess them.

As a felon, however, Richard Willsey was prohibited from having any type of gun. He also was under a restraining order barring him from the La Habra residence, said La Habra police Capt. Terry Rammell.

As part of his probation, Willsey was to stay away from the house near Florence Avenue and North Lois Street.

In his attack, officers said, he fired at least 50 rounds inside and outside the small, two-bedroom home. Many of the bullets pierced the walls of the home and the one next door, Rammell said. Spent shell casings were scattered across the yard and the house.

“In my 26 years I’ve never seen anything like this, where so many rounds were used,” said Rammell, who said “outrage, jealousy . . . or a bitter divorce” may have provoked the tragedy.

At least 100 more rounds of ammunition for the assault rifle, and a semiautomatic pistol, were found in a drum in the red Buick he had rented the day before, Rammell said.

“This is domestic violence in the worst case,” he told reporters at an afternoon news conference.

Terrified residents in what is one of La Habra’s oldest neighborhoods were awakened about 6 a.m. by what some described as an explosive sound, then a series of pops. At least one of the residents saw the gunman, and another witness watched in horror as the body of Nancy Willsey was dragged in from the front porch. Numerous neighbors called 911. From witnesses and grim evidence found about the yard and inside the 85-year-old home, police reconstructed the following account of the slayings, the first double murder-suicide in police memory in the city of 55,100:

Richard Willsey had hidden behind the house and near a detached garage, waiting for Hoefs to leave for work. When Hoefs walked out the back door, Willsey allegedly started firing one of the assault rifles. The wounded Hoefs crawled back into the kitchen, where Willsey then came in and shot him dead.

The gunman then started chasing and firing at his estranged wife, who was halfway out the front door when she was gunned down, police said. This is when a witness, who was not identified, watched Willsey drag his wife back indoors. As Nancy Willsey lay near him in the living room, he turned one of the rifles to his own head and fired.

The few neighbors who peeked out their windows saw police arrive swiftly from the police station two blocks away. As officers looped yellow tape around a wide area of the house and then surrounded it, they said, they found the back door open and a trio of bodies inside: a man, then a woman, then another man. All were declared dead at the scene.

One witness saw the pistol, though it was not immediately clear if Willsey ever fired it. One of the assault rifles was equipped with a silencer.

A few of the residents who did not hear gunfire said they were awakened by the thwack-thwack of police and media helicopters circling their neighborhood.

La Habra Couple Described as Friendly

Neighbors and acquaintances described Nancy Willsey and Hoefs as a friendly couple who loved to fish, watch races, collect cars and travel by motor home. They frequently attended gatherings at the La Habra Temple Baptist Church.

Votaw Human Resources Manager Betty Taylor said a pall hung over the manufacturing plant, where the victims “were our employees, and they were very good employees.” She said the company had met and decided to remain circumspect out of respect for relatives, but she added: “Obviously this is a tragedy.”

In the tidy neighborhood near the San Gabriel River Freeway and north of Whittier Boulevard, many of Richard Willsey’s neighbors said they were not fond of him. There were three broken-down cars parked in the driveway Monday night.

But Joyce Wilson and her husband, Bud, a 69-year-old retired Votaw machinist, said Willsey could be very neighborly and agreeable. Just two weeks ago, he brought over brochures from Cape Canaveral, where he had just been and thought they might enjoy taking a trip there in their motor home.

The Wilsons had known all three wives of the man they called Dick, as well as his three sons by his first marriage. One of Willsey’s sons remained at the house when Willsey moved elsewhere in Whittier some months ago.

Willsey met his last wife about five years ago in Oregon, where she lived. He was on one of his long hauls, the Wilsons said. Nancy moved to Southern California with him, and they eventually married. The new Mrs. Willsey then moved some of her relatives in: her daughter, Patty, and her two granddaughters. Later, her father moved in, too, the Wilsons said.

Sometime later, the Willseys’ marriage began to fall apart. They separated about two or three years ago, the Wilsons said, and Nancy soon accused Richard of threatening her. She called her husband a “terrorist,” and he was arrested and jailed, Joyce Wilson said.

Bud Wilson said he knew his longtime neighbor had a bad temper. But he still liked the man who had invited him to go hunting in Utah, where Richard Willsey apparently owned property. The pair never made the trip--and had never even talked about guns, Bud Wilson said.

The older couple felt their trucker friend had been depressed lately because of the broken marriage and nasty aftermath.

“You know,” Joyce Wilson said sadly, “we heard about this today, and it’s a shock. I’ll tell you.”

Staff writers Elaine Gale and Nancy Hill-Holtzman, correspondents Jason Kandel and Christine Castro and librarian Sheila Kern contributed to this report.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Gunman Kills Two, Then Himself

Richard Willsey, armed with two assault rifles, killed his estranged wife, Nancy, and her boyfriend in her La Habra house early Monday before turning a gun on himself, police said.

Double murder, suicide

1) Willsey shoots estranged wife’s boyfriend, Dennis Hoefs, at back door.

2) Willsey chases, shoots Nancy at front door, drags her body into living room

3) Willsey commits suicide

Police find 100-round drum of ammunition in suspect’s car

Neighbor’s house sprayed by gunfire

Source: La Habra Police Capt. Terry Rammell

Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD / Los Angeles Times